21 Savage's ‘New York Times’ Interview Sheds Light on His Upbringing

From London to Atlanta.

21 Savage has had a crazy month — from the series of events from when he was detained by ICE, to his quickly-approaching deportation hearing. Recently, he sat down with the New York Times to discuss the situation, touching on his upbringing and his experiences growing up as an undocumented immigrant.

From a young age, 21 Savage moved from London to Atlanta, and he explains that Atlanta is all he knows, and that he grew to love the new environment he was in. The rapper goes on to discuss the fact that the worst part wasn’t getting arrested and being detained, but rather the possibility that he would have to leave the place he grew up to love.

“Damn, I love my house, I ain’t gonna be able to go in my house no more? I ain’t gonna be able to go to my favorite restaurant that I been going to for 20 years straight? That’s the most important thing. If you tell me, I’ll give you 20 million to go stay somewhere you ain’t never stayed, I’d rather be broke. I’ll sit in jail to fight to live where I’ve been living my whole life.”

On growing up, 21 reminisces on not being able to get a job, a driver’s license, government assistance and more. 21 does go on to say that his struggles in the country as an undocumented immigrant made him strong, and that he wouldn’t be who he is today without his upbringing. The rapper also discussed the fact that the immigration system is fair, and that it tests you the same, regardless of whether you come from an influential and rich background, “Even if you got money, it ain’t easy. It ain’t no favoritism, and I respect it, I honestly respect it. It would be kind of messed up if they treated rich immigrants better than poor immigrants, I think”.

When asked how he felt about missing out on the Grammy Awards, and the support he received from fans and fellow artists, 21 was grateful and appreciative as he replied with:

“I don’t care what nobody say — everybody in that building who’s connected to this culture, I was on their mind in some type of way. That’s all that mattered. They didn’t have to say it ’cause everybody knew it. It was in the air. All the people that was there, they said the words in other places and that matter just as much.”